Only Bruises
by Muldoon22
Summary: Natasha discovers Steve participating in bare knuckle boxing. She tries to dissuade him from his path to destruction.
1. Chapter 1

Natasha laughed at a joke Clint said as she, him and Tony walked towards a bar.

"Barton, if you told that to Fury, he'd fire you,then kill you."

"Probably send you to do it."

"I'd probably break your arms or something, disabling you from firing arrows. That's about it."

"That's even crueller!" he mockingly exclaimed. Tony rolled his eyes.

"You done flirting? I'm parched." as he held open the door.

Clint and Natasha laughed as they walked in. The bar was called Flanagans Rumble Pit, as it was a bar that had a boxing ring in it. Only thing was the fighters had no gloves to protect their hands and it involved MMA style fighting, as well as boxing.

They took a seat at the bar as Sammy Delgado beat Walden Everton to a pulp almost before the ref came and broke it up. Delgado was titled the winner and Everton was helped out of the ring.

"Now that's entertainment." Clint said, Tony nodding and Natasha giving them a look.

"It's torture when it's conducted like this. In a place like this."

The announcer made his way to centre ring as the three took their attention to the bartender.

"Ladies and gentlemen, give a hand to last fight's winner Sammy Delgado!"

Some patrons applauded while others, including the three didn't.

"Let's introduce our next contenders. First up, from Queens, give it up for Freddie Milkman!"

Freddie jogged into the ring while Natasha took a sip from her drink, uninterested.

"And now for his opponent, from Brooklyn, give it up for Steve Rogers!"

She spat out her drink as she and the others turned to see Steve hustle towards the announcer.

"Rogers? Boy, this'll be good." Tony said, rubbing his hands. "I'll place 20 on Rogers!"

The bartender took Tony's bet as Natasha kept looking at Steve in genuine concern. The announcer was telling the fighters the rules: no cheap shots, no hits after the whistle and no spitting at one another. They bumped fists and headed to their corners.

No sooner had she began moving closer than when the buzzer blew and the two traded blows. Milkman landed a punch on Steve and he retaliated with a punch of his own, as well as a kick to the stomach.

She watched the two wail on one another, round after round, not holding anything back. She gasped when Milkman head butted Steve and stunned him, causing him to fall over and Milkman jumped on him, attempting to pin. Steve kicked out And was back on his feet. He unloaded a barrage of punches before upper cutting him and knocking him out.

Tony fisted the air as Clint whooped. "Ladies and gentlemen, your victor: Steve Rogers!"

Steve quickly shook hands with the announcer before exiting the ring and going into one of the back rooms. Natasha snuck over. As she looked into the room, she saw Steve examining his knuckles, which were bloody and bruised, as was a lot of his body. from his face to his body.

"Steve?" she asked, causing him to jump a bit.

"Natasha. What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." she replied, as she went over to him to see his wounds. "Why are you doing this?"

He shrugged. "Takes my mind off things. Keeps me in shape."

"Well, I disapprove, but Clint and Tony don't. You just won them some money."

"They're here too? Damn, been doing this for a month down and now you start finding out."

"A month?!" she exclaimed. "This isn't exactly something people do to take their mind off things."

"It is for me." the ring manager walked in, counting out some money. "Ok, Rogers, 600 bucks, minus 100 for locker fee. So 500." he said as he handed Steve the money. "See you tomorrow."

"Thanks, Paul."

Natasha's eyebrows furrowed. "You're coming back tomorrow?"

"Yup."

"Steve, this isn't healthy. Physically and mentally."

Steve slid on his shirt. "I enjoy it. It keeps me in shape."

"If it's the training you're after, I could help you with that. If it means preventing you from harming yourself."

Steve shook his head. "Thanks, but i'll stick to this. Besides, my injuries don't stay for long. I'll see you back at the tower." he said, walking out the door.

Natasa exited to try and catch up to Steve, but he was already gone. Clint and Tony however were engaged in a drinking contest with some bikers.

"Rommyoff! Les get er in on dis, she can outdrink all of us." Clint slurred. Natasha rolled her eyes and left.


	2. Chapter 2

For the next few days Natasha would watch Steve return from his fights with numerous bruises and cuts all over his face and body, which made her cringe. She wished that he wouldn't do this to himself and wanted to badly help him, which he consistently declined. Soon, she pulled the last straw after watching a clip of him fighting that involved being flung through a glass table and beaten with a chair. She tracked him down to the kitchen in Stark Tower.

"Hello, Nata-" he said before being slapped across the face.

"Steve, what the hell is this?" she said, pulling out her phone and showing him the clip.

"Ah. Someone suggested items being added." he said, opening the fridge and pulling out a carton of milk.

"Steve, this has to stop. You're pushing it too far. You're doing harm to yourself."

"Natasha, I know what I'm doing. I'll be fine"

"You could kill yourself! You may be a super soldier, but shit like that will get you killed."

He remained silent for a minute. "Maybe that's not such a bad thing." he said quietly.

Her eyes went wide. "How is it a good thing?"

Steve sighed, frustrated. "What year is it? 2012. I shouldn't even be alive right now, but I am, and everyone else that I knew is dead. Peggy, Dum Dum, Howard. I hold the door for a woman these days, I'm a sexist pig. I get spooked by a piece of new technology, I get laughed at. This time period is too difficult for me to understand and no matter how hard I try I get knocked back and ridiculed. I'm not meant to survive here." he placed his hands down on the counter in despair. She went to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You can survive here. I can help you. You don't have to do this alone. Just let me help you."

He began to weep and she enclosed him in a hug, beginning to cry a little as well. They slid down to the ground and held onto one another for awhile. Soon, Steve spoke again.

"Ok. Ok."

Natasha looked to him. "Ok what?"

"I'll let you help me. Just don't make me feel like a child."

"I'd never do that." she said, placing her forehead against his. "Just promise me: no more fighting."

Steve nodded. "I promise."

_Anyone who wishes to submit a suggestion for where to take this story ext, I'd be happy to accept._


	3. Chapter 3

She took Steve around the city the next day, showing him the updates in restaurants, entertainment, travel and personalities of the citizens.

"And you see that guy?" she said. "They call them hipsters. They think they're cool when in reality they're pretentious assholes."

Steve chuckled a bit. "I could tell by the scarf and glasses."

She smiled at the fact he was laughing again. It had been awhile since she heard it.

"What time is it?"

She looked at her phone. "It's 4:30."

"Shoot. Fury wants us back at 5."

"We better head back then. I'll show you the subway on the way back."

They went underground and hopped on a train headed back to central Manhattan. A man on the train spotted them and went over to them.

"Stevie! How's it going?"

Natasha turned to the man and frowned when she recognized him as Steve's fighting manager.

"Rick. What's up?"

"Nothing at all. Haven't seen you at the gym recently."

"Well, I've been busy with other things." he said, looking at Natasha.

"Well, hopefully you're not busy this weekend. I've signed you up for the Spartan Strong tournament."

Steve turned back to him. "What? Why?"

"You're the strongest fighter I've ever managed. We could take the championship and the $500 thousand prize, me only taking 50 thousand of it."

"But I'm not interested, Rick. I made someone a promise I wouldn't fight anymore."

Rick's face turned serious. "But Steve, you can't say no. The tournament's already advertising your involvement. You back out, expect a hefty lawsuit."

Steve sighed.

"The venue is in Long Island. I'll see you on Saturday." and with that, Rick got off the train.

Natasha looked at Steve. "You're going to fight, aren't you?"

He shrugged. "I have no choice. Don't want to be dragged to court over this."

Natasha sighed in agreement. "I suppose you should start training then."

The train stopped again and Natasha got up. "I'll see you back at the tower."

"Wait, Natasha." Steve said just as she marched out the door. He let his head drop down, sad that she was mad at him.

* * *

Steve had not spoke to Natasha in the days leading up to the tournament. He trained and she worked, both running in to one another in the halls of Stark Tower, but before Steve could say anything she was gone.

He took the train out to Long Island early Saturday morning and met Rick outside of the arena.

"Hey, Steve-o, you ready?"

"Yeah, let's just get this over with and then I'm done."

"Alright, alright. Let's get inside, your first fight starts in an hour.

* * *

Back at Stark Tower, Natasha busied herself with some knitting in the living room. It was nice and quiet until the doors came flying open and Tony, Bruce, Clint and Thor ran to the couch, with popcorn and beer in their hands.

"Quick, turn it to channel 74!" Tony told Clint, who fumbled with the remote.

"Can't you wait to watch TV? I'm trying to knit."

"Sorry, Red. Steve's fighting in a minute. Ain't missing that."

Natasha frowned. "That's today?"

"Yup."

The match came on and the group saw Steve in the ring, his first opponent being a Gregor Marzucky.

* * *

"Alright, Steve, this guy has strength, but he lacks a cohesive strategy. So he's going to be flailing at you with no coordination. Aim for the head and try to KO him.

Steve nodded and put in his mouth guard. He then stood up and went to square off with Gregor. The ref explained the rules to them, they bumped hands and the fight began.

Gregor struck first, striking Steve hard in the face. Steve put his arms up and blocked any more punches before delivering a jab to Gregor's side. Gregor did not like this and wailed on Steve's chest, before upper cutting him.

"Ooh!" Clint exclaimed while Natasha looked away, pained to see Steve hurt.

Steve recovered and unloaded a barrage of punches and kicks onto Gregor. Finally, Steve kicked him over the head and knocked him clean out. The ref counted to 10, but Gregor never stood back up. Steve had won.

Tony threw the popcorn up in the air out of celebration, which caused Thor to pout, as he was rather enjoying it. They all turned to gouge Natasha's reaction, but found she was gone.

* * *

Steve was standing outside his hotel room, talking with Rick.

"You did good today, man! Just two more days until the finals, and the way you're going, you'll be there."

"Thanks, Rick." Steve said, disinterested. "I'll see you tomorrow." he opened his door and went into the room.

Before he turned on the lights, they were already activated. Steve turned to see Natasha standing in front of him.

"Natasha? What are you-?"

"If you're going to win this, you're gonna need a better coach, which i'll be, on one condition."

"What is that?"

"This is the last time. No more association with Rick, no more going to gyms outside of Stark Tower or SHIELD, no more abusing your body. Swear that to me."

"I swear."

"Good. Now go to sleep. We're waking up at 5 tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

They woke up at precisely 5, and within a half hour, she had him running the length of the beach they were near, followed by a large number of jumping jacks, pushups, situps, stretches, and finally spending a solid two hours in the gym hitting the punching bag and sparring with her, something that he was very hesitant about doing. She told him to stop being a wimp and coaxed him into hitting her. He did and after a few minutes he knocked her down. He immediately knelt down to she if she was alright. She smiled at him.

"You're gonna kick ass tonight. I guarantee it." she said as he helped her up. "Time for breakfast."

* * *

They were seated in the hotel's dining room, Steve slowly picking at his omelette, Natasha ignoring her oatmeal. She looked up to see a black haired muscular man enter the room and enter the breakfast line.

"There's the guy you're fighting tonight." she told Steve, pointing to the man. Steve looked. "That's Alan Pacioretty?"

"Yup. Alan Pacioretty, of Ithaca, New York. Weighs 252 pounds. But I think you can take him."

"Let's hope so." Steve replied, as Rick stormed towards them.

"Steve, what the hell? Why aren't you in the gym?"

"If you hadn't noticed, he's having breakfast with his coach." Natasha replied.

"What do you mean? I'M his coach." Rick stated.

"Not as of last night."

Rick turned to Steve. "Steve, is this true?"

Steve nodded. "Rick, you're only want me to win so you can get money. I need a coach who want's me to win for the sake of winning. I'm sorry, Rick, you're fired."

Rick licked his lips and nodded. "Alright. Fine." and stormed off. Natasha smiled slightly to herself.

"As I was saying, Pacioretty thrives in blocking. So when he blocks his face, you go for his ribs. He blocks his ribs, you go for his face. Then when you wear him down, clock him."

Steve wrote the information down on a napkin.

"You done with your eggs?" she asked.

He looked at them. "Yeah."

"Good. There's 7 hours until you enter the ring and I kinda want to go explore. Rarely get to come out to Long Island."

"Sounds like a plan." he said. He pulled out his wallet and put some money on the table, Natasha followed him out.

* * *

They spent the day in Amityville, visiting the allegedly haunted Lutz house. They didn't encounter any ghosts or spectres, but the sound of a falling glass spooked Natasha enough to jump into Steve's arms. She smiled at him, embarrassed. After leaving the house, they ruled that, since they were there anyway, they may as well get some Long Island iced tea. They really enjoyed them, and luckily Steve's sobriety wouldn't be affected. For extra precaution, he insisted on driving back, to which she agreed.

Steve spent another half hour in the gym warming up before heading to the ring. He got to his dressing room, where Natasha was waiting for him. He got into his shorts and she helped him put on his fingerless gloves.

"You ready for this?" she asked as he did a quick stretch.

"More than i'll ever be." he replied. She nodded in acknowledgement before walking alongside him out to the crowd.

People expressed surprise to see Natasha coming out with him, even sparking a few sexist remarks from inebriated spectators. As they approached the ring, one said to her.

"You shouldn't be helping him fight, you should be in my bedroom where i'll show you a good time, ya bitch." he slurred.

Natasha shot a deadly glare at him before taking him by the shirt and slamming him to the ground. He groaned an apology and hastily went back to his seat. She turned her attention back to going up to the ring.

Pacioretty was already in the ring, practicing jabs. Steve did a quick jab session before Natasha sat him down on his wooden stool.

"Remember, time the blocks and go for the vulnerable." she said as she fitted his mouth guard in place. He bit down on it to mould with his teeth and stood up. He met face to face with Pacioretty as the ref informed them of the rules. The y nodded, bumped hands and went back to their corners.

"And Steve?" Natasha asked from outside the ring. He turned to her. "Be careful." she said. He nodded as the ref's countdown decreased to 2.

"Gentlemen, let's go to war!" he hollered and Steve charged towards Pacioretty.

* * *

"Is that Red acting as Capsicle's coach?" Tony asked as he and Clint chewed thoughtlessly on popcorn.

"It appears so. Though I don't know why. She doesn't like him fighting."

"Yeah, I saw. Spotted her huffing and puffing when that Gregor guy cracked Steve in the face."

"Aww. That's sweet." Tony mockingly said. They turned their attention back to the fight.

* * *

Steve lunged at Pacioretty once the fourth round began. Both had their share of bruises and blood spilt, but both were still holding up against one another.

Like Natasha said, Pacioretty was constantly in defence, so Steve went for his vulnerable spots. He was guarding his ribs, so he lobbed a punch to his face. Deflected, so Pacioretty began guarding his face. Steve jabbed his ribs, and the moment he went to guard them, Steve upper cutter him, sending him to the ground.

The ref counted to 10, but Pacioretty didn't get up. The ref ruled him out and the crowd erupted in cheer for Steve. Natasha ran into the ring, handing him a towel.

"Wipe some of that sweat off you before I hug you." she said. He quickly complied. Once he was done she flung her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Told you we'd win." she whispered to him.


	5. Chapter 5

He had the next day off from fighting, as the quarter finals and the finals were the same day and there was still another fight between Brock Jessup and Derek Bates.

She decided she wanted to enjoy the beach as it was summer. He was reluctant to go at first, but Natasha looked at him with puppy dog eyes, which melted him. He grabbed his trunks and met her down in the lobby. She had on a red and black swimsuit, which made Steve completely lost for words.

"Think it's suitable for the beach?" she asked him.

He nodded. "Yeah, Nat. You look great."

She smiled and took his hand. They walked to the beach and spent the late morning/early afternoon frolicking on the beach, sunbathing, swimming, etc. Natasha even managed to convince him to bury him in sand. She found it funny for a moment, but when she saw a temporary flicker of panic on his face she dug him back out.

Afterward they went to their hotel room and watched some television. Around 6 she flung him his jacket.

"Come on, we're going downtown."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "Get some food. Hit up some bars. Come on, Steve, this is your only day without fighting, enjoy it."

He smiled and stood up to put on his jacket. They were out the door in a second.

* * *

They had dinner at a small seafood place on the boardwalk. It was awful. So Steve ran across the street to Subway and bought them some sandwiches.

"I need alcohol." she suddenly said, popping the last morsel of sub into her mouth. Steve raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yup. Let's find a bar."

They walked around the town looking for a decent bar. During this time they discussed his fight the next day.

"It's Kershaw vs. Easton tomorrow at the same time you go against Bates. I'm fairly certain Easton will prevail, so that means you need to build your-"

"YOU!" a voice called from behind them. They turned to see a very drunk Rick standing there, struggling to stand still.

"Rick, what do you want?" Steve asked.

"I wanna kill that bitch right there. She done took my best fighter from me."

"I wouldn't advise that." Steve replied.

"And what are you gonna do?"

"It's not what I'm gonna do, it's what she could possibly do."

"Then let's see it!" he yelled, pulling out a pocket knife and lunging at Natasha. Steve blocked the path as Rick stabbed the knife between the gap under Steve's arm. Steve crushed his hand and punched him, sending him to the ground.

"You try that again, and i'll kill you." Steve said, barely able to contain his rage.

"Steve." Natasha said quietly. He turned to see her sitting on the ground, clutching at her stomach. He dropped to his knees and moved her hand to reveal a stab wound to her stomach. He looked at her before picking up her into his arms and running for the nearest hospital. It took a half hour to find, and during that time Natasha had passed out, scaring Steve immensely. He charged through the doors of the hospital.

"Someone help me! My friend has been stabbed!" he yelled. A herd of medics surrounded them and wheeled Natasha away on a gurney. A nurse was trying to calm him down.

"Sir, we'll do the best we can."

"Please, I can't lose her. You have to understand, I can't lose her." he said, close to tears. The nurse managed to get him to sit down. And so he sat for three hours, waiting for news on Natasha.

Finally, a doctor came out. Steve shot right up.

"How is she, Doc? Can I go see her?"

The doctor sighed. "Son, I'm afraid your friend is dead."

He stood silently. "What?"

"She lost too much blood to be revived. I'm sorry." and with that, the doctor walked away. Steve swayed in his spot before dropping to his knees and yelling at the top of his lungs, a yell that echoed through the hospital. He stopped yelling and fell over, crying. A few people went over to comfort him, but it was a wasted effort. He laid there for hours, crying until there was no tears left to shed.

* * *

A/N I deeply apologize for the horrifying end to this chapter. I'm currently in a bad spot emotionally so I needed some way to get the pain off of me. I pledge to have a more upbeat ending, but bear with me.


	6. Chapter 6

He returned to their...his hotel room early the next morning. He looked around and could feel the emptiness of the place now that Natasha wasn't there. It still raced through his head how unbelievable this was: Natasha Romanoff. Dead. Killed by a drunk with a knife. He was stopped from murdering Rick by hospital staff when the police brought him in for his hand.

He looked to the chair nearest the window, where she would constantly occupy. He'd watch her read a book she brought along with her or notes she took on the next fighter Steve had to face. He touched the chair and sighed. He had the hospital staff hold Natasha's body until after the finals, where he'd take her back to Manhattan himself and tell his other teammates. It was going to be hard they thought of one another as a family, and they just lost a sister.

He wanted so badly to take his mind off this disaster, so he begrudgingly started his workout session for his fight in three hours. He was still going to fight, but he'd win for her.

* * *

He was facing Derek Bates in this matchup. Steve tried to keep focused, but she haunted him. She wasn't going to be there to cheer him on or help him during time-outs.

* * *

Tony and Clint were once again watching.

"Huh. Wonder where Natalie is." Tony said.

"I'll call her to see why she isn't there." Clint said, pulling out his phone. It rung but no answer.

"No answer."

"Then we'll ask her when she gets back." Tony said.

* * *

Steve couldn't concentrate while the ref told him and Bates the rules. All he kept seeing is Rick, Natasha, the doctor. Constantly playing that moment over and over in his head.

The moment the ref started the fight, Rick's face was in replacement for Bates'. Steve saw red and punched him in the face as hard as he could, knocking him cold out. The ref counted to 10 and Bates didn't get up. Steve was declared victor and going to the finals, but Steve had left the ring the moment Bates fell. He returned to his hotel room, locked himself in the bathroom and cried some more.

* * *

Like Natasha predicted, Hoyt Easton was the guy Steve was fighting against. He initially considered not going through with the last fight, but then how would that be honouring Natasha? He found a necklace of hers, one baring the Black Widow symbol on the floor in the room. For good luck he put it around his neck.

He waited for the announcer to introduce him. He held the emblem of the necklace in his hand, so he kissed it.

"Bring me luck, Nat. Wherever you are."

The announcer finally introduced him and he ran to the ring, fans cheering.

* * *

"Natasha is once again a no show." Clint pointed out.

"Maybe they had a falling out. All fighting movies have it. _Rocky, Warrior, The Fighter.."_

"True, but if that was the case, Nat probably would be back here."

"Well, we'll find out soon enough, won't we?"

* * *

Steve breathed in and out as the ref signalled for the round to begin. Steve threw the first punch, hitting Easton in the neck. Easton countered with a kick to the head, stunning Steve. The rest of the round went as a back and forth, Steve punched, Easton retaliated. Easton punched, Steve retaliated.

Come second round, it almost looked like the fight was in Easton's favour. He blindsided Steve with a barrage of hits to the kidneys and then an uppercut, which nearly knocked Steve down. He held in and delivered a punch to the stomach and head and then swept his legs out from under him. The round ended and the third was about to begin.

Steve looked at the necklace again. He knew she'd want him to win, so that was what he was going to do.

The ref started the third, and off the bat Steve was all over Easton, attacking his face and his body. With no alternative to defend himself, Easton headbutted Steve, stunning him. The ref called illegal move and Easton lost a point. Steve got back up and swarmed him again. Easton's stamina deteriorated and soon his arms got tired from blocking. Seizing his chance, Steve hit harder and finally sent him to the mat.

The ref counted to 10 as Easton struggled to stand. The ref was at 7 and Easton collapsed back to the mat. The ref got to 10 and ruled him out. Steve had won.

The arena erupted in cheer as reporters and a couple of fans swarmed the ring. A reporter with ESPN got in Steve's face. He half-heartedly answered questions until he spotted someone enter the ring. Short red hair, black leather jacket, could it be?

He turned fully around to see Natasha there, alive.

He looked bewildered. He walked to her.

"Hi, Steve." she said with a wavering smile.

He looked over her and touched her shoulder. "Don't worry, Steve, I'm actually here."

Steve stepped back, absolutely stunned. "How?"

She shrugged. "Held a gun to the doctors balls and told him to say I was dead."

Steve took that in. "Why?"

"I thought you might need the motivation. To win without holding back."

"You made me think you died in order for me to win a fight?" he asked, slightly angered.

"I'm sorry, Steve. But I thought I was holding you back. I-"

Steve grabbed onto her and held her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Don't ever do that to me again, goddamnit. Don't ever make me think of losing you. You don't hold me back, you push me forward. I love you, Nat."

Tears fell down her face.

"I love you." he continued. He moved so that they were looking each other in the eye and kissed her. She reciprocated passionately, as the reporters and photographers absorbed the scene in front of them.

* * *

Clint and Tony watched the two kiss on TV.

"Ok, that's fucking adorable." Tony said, mock wiping a tear from his eye.

"Still, I wonder why she wasn't at the fights." Clint mused.

"Maybe she got sick of seeing him hurt again. Or got banned from the final two games."

"Or maybe she got stabbed while out together, pretended it killed her in order to motivate Steve to win."

Tony looked at the archer in confusion.

"Just spitballing." he added, as they watched Steve pick Natasha up and walk out of the ring and through the herd of reporters and fans, $500 thousand richer and his heart much more happy.

_fin_

A/N Alright, I hope you enjoyed this story. If anyone is interested, the reason I was upset was because I had a fight with my dad and made me feel like crap. But I slept it off and knew I needed to make up for that devastating fifth chapter. But hey, she's alive! Thanks for reading.


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